Fantasque French Char B1 in experimental camouflage

Rhino

Member since
November 2004
From: Beaverton, Oregon

Fantasque French Char B1 in experimental camouflage

Posted by Rhino on Friday, June 7, 2019 2:57 PM

I have always wanted to do an interpretation of the tank Fantasque. The idea of a French artist actually painting a forest on the tank was quirky and interesting to me. Of course, in reality, the idea was a total failure because within a few miles the vehicle was covered in dirt and all was for naught. With the Tamiya kit in 1/35 and me with some more spare time, I decided to do it. Since the actual tank was done in a textured paint I figured to hand brush everything in AV paints. I built the Tamiya Char B1 out of the box and it was a very enjoyable build with no real assembly issues. The actual tank may not have been quite so fancy but this is my interpretation of what the artists could have done. I tend to build for fun not to create the actual vehicle down to every bolt. The decals came from Echelon.

The best part is I had more fun than the usual building and painting this one.

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disastermaster

Member since
July 2003
From: On my kitchen counter top somewhere in central North Carolina.

Posted by disastermaster on Friday, June 7, 2019 4:41 PM

This is incredibly awesome. I am impressed with the work that has been put into this even if some of the rudimentary details might have been missed.

The fun is the best part. You are extremely lucky to have a wife that enjoys this hobby with you. Good for her!

I look forward to seeing more of your work. Thank you for putting this up.

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Rhino

Member since
November 2004
From: Beaverton, Oregon

Posted by Rhino on Friday, June 7, 2019 5:06 PM

Thank you for the compliment. Yes, having your wife share the hobby is a great addition. She wanted to know what it was like to build models, so I bought her a simple kit 40+ years ago. She finished it and immediately said, "wait I can do better" and has been in the hobby ever since. Led to her sculpting figures for Verlinden and other companies, so obviously she was right, she did do better.

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Real G

Member since
May 2011
From: Honolulu, Hawaii

Posted by Real G on Friday, June 7, 2019 5:53 PM

With 21st century hindsight, you can tell such an experiment was folly. But back in 1917, tanks were a new cutting edge concept and nobody knew which way was "right". Well, they were not entirely wrong - unusual camouflage has time to time proved startlingly effective.

And now you have a very nice, interesting model with a unique camouflage job with a story! Yes Yes

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

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M1GarandFan

Member since
July 2014
From: Rifle, CO. USA

Posted by M1GarandFan on Friday, June 7, 2019 7:24 PM

Outstanding work , sir! The model and figure by themselves are impressive, but the camo is way beyond. That is a work of art.

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keavdog

Member since
April 2003
From: USA

Posted by keavdog on Friday, June 7, 2019 8:24 PM

Thats really well done! I had never heard of this particular tank. After googling it, you definitely represent the concept! Really nice build.

Thanks,

John

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Gamera

Member since
November 2009
From: SW Virginia

Posted by Gamera on Monday, June 10, 2019 11:23 AM

I saw photos when I built the same kit, thought it was neat looking but didn't want the hassle to try to paint it. Great job there, you did a splendid representation!

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

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stikpusher

Member since
July 2004
From: Sonora Desert

Posted by stikpusher on Monday, June 10, 2019 12:52 PM

That is some superb brushwork! I can imagine that in a tree line position, that scheme would be highly effectively.

Great work! French tanks are not seen on here very much.

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

- Plankton

LSM

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TigerII

Member since
June 2004
From: East Stroudsburg, PA

Posted by TigerII on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 12:22 AM

That is awesome artwork and as Stik mentioned it would be a menacing tank in a treeline. I guess you can say that this was the first true 'ambush scheme' when it came to camouflage.

Achtung Panzer! Colonel General Heinz Guderian